I have a 1965 Chrysler New Yorker. I was my grandfather’s car. About twenty years ago, a buddy of mine at that time helped me rebuild the motor. While I had auto shop in high school 40ish years ago-I’m no expert. I had a severe auto accident which left me unable to work in the rest of the engine. So while it is completely assembled with assembly lube, it has been sitting for a VERY long time. Do I need to disassemble it and start over? I do have a bore scope is pictures of the cylinder walls would help or removing the intake and one of the heads? Also, how important is using “plastigauge”(sp) with assembly? I realize many people would think I should just junk it and from what I’ve heard the 413 is a garbage motor, but it’s sentimental to me and my first car in high school. I await your wisdom and expertise. Thank you in advance.
Warm regards,
Walter
I have not built an engine in a very long time, and never a Mopar engine, but here's my best shot at this...
Plastigauge is important to verify that bearing clearances are OK. That's something you don't want to leave to chance.
If everything was lubed and the engine stored in a dry location it should basically be OK. Might want to put fresh assembly lube on the cam, crank, bearing shells to make sure they doesn't suffer from a dry start. Check crank seals - if they've been sitting dry for a very long time they've probably hardened and should be replaced.
Pour some Marvel Mystery oil down the cylinders and see if the engine will turn with a wrench on the crank pulley bolt. (Remove plugs if installed so there's no compression to fight against.) If it doesn't turn, let the oil sit in the cylinders for several days to free up the pistons.
Probably best to pressurize the oil system before attempting to start it. I have not worked on a 413 but if the oil pump is driven by the distributor shaft (common American practice at the time) you can do that with a distributor shaft minus the drive gear that engages the cam, driven from a power drill in the correct direction to spin up the oil pump. (Suitable shafts are available as tools for some engines.) Packing the oil pump with vaseline to prime it would not be a bad idea, that way it will pump right away and the vaseline just dissolves in the oil.
That's about all I can think of off the top of my head. The guys who build engines all the time can no doubt come up with more.
